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More Scans without Better Care

A recent review article in the New England Journal of Medicine has found that the use of CT scans to diagnose patients has increased dramatically over the past two decades leading to potentially dangerous overexposure to radiation. Read More

—Source: New England Journal of Medicine, December, 2007

The Holiday Treatment Rush

Patients are making efforts to squeeze in extra doctor visits or surgeries before deductibles reset or insurance changes. Read More

—Source: Vimo, November, 2007

Convenient Care—Now in Hospitals

A number of Hospitals, including the Mayo Clinic, have begun opening convenient care clinics near hospital locations, a response to the rapid growth of convenient care clinics in the past five years.
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Consumers Group Finds Value in HDHPs

Cost-saving, high-deductible health plans with HSAs offer the best values to individuals and families, according to a recent report by the Consumers’ Checkbook that focused on health options for federal employees. Walton Francis, an analyst for the organization, told the Washington Post that HDHPs “are among the biggest bargains,” noting that while “they are a bit complicated to understand” they offer much better values for the average consumer. Read More

Drug Sales, Approvals Declining

Prescription drug sales in the United States are projected to grow at their slowest rate since 1963. According to The Wall Street Journal, the slowed growth stems in part from slowed production of newer medications. In fact, the FDA is on pace this year to approve just half of the medications it approved in 2004. Read More

Health Insurers Offering Credit Cards

A number of health insurers have begun offering credit cards to be used specifically for health related costs. Insurers are offering the cards to consumers with high-deductible plans as a way to speed doctor’s office payments and streamline administrative paper work and costs. After a few months, interest rates on the cards can climb to above twenty percent.
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The Vimo Beat

HSAs Made Simple

As we’ve previously noted, 26 million Americans now have some form of a high deductible health insurance plan, a number that experts predict will more than double in the next 12 years. To help consumers figure out how to best take advantage of HSAs, Vimo has partnered with Roy Ramthun, former Senior Advisor to the Secretary of the U.S. Treasury for health initiatives and former Health Care Advisor to President George W. Bush, on a comprehensive guide to HSAs.

The report spells out the requirements for a health plan to be HSA eligible, gives clear guidance on how to maximize savings with an HSA, and provides a helpful appendix listing HSA qualified expenses.

The report is free. You can read it online here and you can download a pdf version here.

Vimo’s latest national press appearance was in U.S. News and World Report’s article on “5 Ways to Lower Your Medical Bills.” One tip we recommended is offering to pay cash for medical services.

“Paying cash is worth a lot to a doctor in terms of time and trouble, and it is a lot less complex for the hospital to deal with,” as it saves hospitals the trouble of negotiating financing terms, paying credit card transaction fees, and sending collection agencies after patients who fail to pay, Shankar Srinivasan, Vimo’s CTO, told the national magazine. Read the entire article here.

• Shop For Hospitals
• Shop For Doctors
• Shop For Health Insurance
• Vimo FAQ